Arch-support



J. L. ZINK. ARCH SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED OCT-241N319.

1,349,355. A I I Patented Aug. 10,1920.

WITNESS: IN VEN TOR:

A TTORNE Y.

PATENT ormca;

JAMES L. ZINK, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ARCH-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 24, 1919. Serial No. 333,097.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES L. ZIN-K, a citizen of the United. States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented a new and .useful Arch-Support, of which the followingshoe to lift and hold the sagged or flattened portion of the human footapproximately to its normal alinement and proper anatomical position,and in lieu of the healthy and efficient ligament and muscle support andstren h which may be lacking, to maintain and old the foot-arch inproper position; the invention relating more particularly to a foot-archsupporter that is adapted to be removably inserted into a shoevand to bein a measure self-fitting to 'difi'erent shoes and to the foot of theuser.

- Arch supports are commonly made of metal, leather, fibroid,'andcomposition, or of a combinatioii of materials, and structurallyarerigid or semi-rigid, and many are heavy, bulky and cumbersome, to suchextent as to distort and damage the shoe or require a special or verylarge shoe to accommodate the supporter which is designed with a View tomerely support or hold up the, foot-arch, rather than to correct anydefect orwealtness in the foot mechanics or anatomical structures.

cred, vand that the user is thus made permanently dependent upon thearch-supports.

An object of the'invention is to. provide an improved foot-archsupporter which shall be so constructed as to be capable of supportingthe foot-arch in-its proper position and'alinement, and permittingcomplete and unrestricted action of all the various foot movements, soas to not deprive the sustaining tissues and muscles of opportunity asthey may gain or regain strength to per- I form their natural functions;to the end that the arch supporter shall be not a more support or prop,but a corrective instrument conducive to the encouragement of naturaleffort in the tissuesand muscles to their proper functions.

Another object is to provide a flexible arch support which shall be soconstructed as to not only hold the foot-arch in its proper position andalinement, but shall be capable of being corrective by permittingcomplete and unrestricted actionof all the tissues involved in the footmovements while afiording firm support to the foot-arch, so thatby suesat the time the foot-arches are supported the full functions of the footmay be improved or lost functions restored, as the physiological effectof the exercise of fimction brings a return of the foot to noi'malactivities.

A further object is to provide a flexible arch support of suchconstruction that extra pressure upon corns and bunions is avoided, andso that its flexibility shall permit it to be conformable to the footwhile in passive use, in order that the arch support may be comfortablein use to those who sufier with tissueswhich may be sensitive topressure.

A still further object is to provide a flexible arch support which shallbe so constructed as to be capable of retaining its flexibility, and inall directions, and not be liable to become hardened or stifi with age,and which will be durable and economical in use. 1

With the above-mentioned and other ob jects in view, the inventionconsists in an arch support constructed so as to be thoroughly flexiblein all of its partner portions and in all directions, being constructedso that it may readilyconform to the lines and contours of difierejntfeet and different shoes; and, the invention consists also furtherin theparts and combinations of parts as hereinafter particularly describedand further claims.

Referring to the drawings,-Figure l is a perspective view showingprincipally the upper portionand the turned up side of a foot-archsupporter, for the left foot, constructed substantially .in accordancewith the invention; Fig. 2is an end view looking at the heel or rearwardend of the supporter; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the the normaluse of the involved tis- I Patented Aug. 10, 1920.

set forth in the accompanying 60 perform I line III- H1 in 1; Fig. 4 isa side elevation-of the improved supporter; and, F ig.

5 is a top plan of the supporter minus its top part orJcover.

Similar reference characters in the various figures of the drawingsindicate like parts or features of construction herein referred to indetail.

The improved supporter has a main portion 1 adapted to support themiddle portion of the foot and provided with a flared side portion 2adapted to support the inner side of the foot, in may cases thesupporter having a heel or rearward portion 3,

layer and extending under the turned over tongues. The fabric or clothlayers are secured together by means of suitable adhesive substance offlexible character which. shall be capable of retaining its flexibility,

such as rubber orrubber composition. It is preferred that the upper orinner face of the bottom layer and'the upper face of the top layer bethoroughly coated with rubher and forced into the fabric and intersticesthereof, so as to be intimately combined with the clothand whereby thelayers are secured together while in heated condition by a processsimilar to that practised in vulcanizing. A cover 8 is arranged upon thetop of the top layer 7 and secured thereto by means of the rubber oradhesive substance combined with the surface of the top layer, the coverbeing, composed of suitable smooth material, preferably thin, flexibleand soft leather, such as sheep-skin, to permit the foot of the user toslide freely thereon in entering the shoe having the supporter therein.The threads of the fabric of the bottom layer when in contact with thesole of the shoe have a tendency to is rendered less liable to slippagewhen'very thoroughly combined with the rubber, which may in some casesor in portions of the fabric be forced between the threads to the underside of the fabric.

' As is the common practice, the improved supporter is properly paddedor built up by r the use of a suitable number of small pieces or layersof material in the, regions where the foot-arch requires more or lesssupport;

but in the present case the padding or rela tive small layers, such asdifferent sizedoverlapping layers 9,10 and 11 arranged on the mainportion of the supporter, are each composed of woven fabric, preferablyso that the threads thereof shall diagonally cross the threads of theadjacent layers,.the padding layers being arranged upon the bottom layer5 and under the top layer 7, or permissibly one or more upon the top ofthe top layer 7, stability being desired so that the supporter shallretain its structural shape. In some cases the forward portion 4 of thesupporter has padding layers 12, 13, 14, therein of different plandimensions so as to form a convex top portion 15 to support the forwardportion of the foot as may be desired in some cases.

The improved supporter may be variously made so as to have the desiredor required contour, in some cases a plaster cast of the foot beingmade, especially in particular cases, and a cast of the inside of a shoemay supporterto obtain the most satisfactory results. The top of theheelportion 3 is more or less concave and the under side usually convex,such formation being adaptedto prevent shifting of the supporter in theshoe. Therebeing a considerable quantity of the rubber or adhesivesubstance incorporated in the structure, the whole sup-' porter isrendered cushion-like or yielding to some extent so as to be comfortableto the user, and yet permit of flexibility throughout the structurewhich permits free bending of the supporter to coincide with bending orchanges of portions of the shoe and foot in use.

In practical use the flexible arch supporters are held in position asthe foot is set at the beginning of a step, by the cupped heelvformation, which approximates the lift in the transverse arch of thefoot accurately to a line corresponding to that drawn trans: verselyfrom the center of the navicular bone internally, to the base of thefifth metatarsal bone externally; as the weight of the body is carriedforward and the muscles in the foot relax, the lift thus placed elevatesthe navicular and inner side of the astragalus as well as supporting theanterior margin of the calcaneum bones and lessening the strain placedupon the ligaments holding these bones in position, thus preventing thetend-' ency of the leg to slip downward and inward off the foot. As theweight of the body is carried forward on the foot in action, theproperly adjusted lift not only holds the bones in thetransverse arch ofthe foot up in position, but also preserves the alineinent of the footin its correct relation to the swing of the leg and with the carrying ofthe body weight still forward and the beginning of the completion of thestep, the flexibility of also be made on which to build the improved thesupporter permits the foot muscles to tense and get their properleverage upon the metatarsal bones for the completion of the step. Asthe weight is carried farther forward and thrown upon the ball ormetatarsal of the foot, the flexibility of the arch permits a perfectaction of the metatarsalphalangeal joints, and the flare of the archsupport automatically holds the metatarsal lift in its correctanatomtical position. The normal functioning of the foot tissues thusassured tends to assist in the correction of mechanical defects of thefoot arch, as well as to strengthen the tissues to a degree permitresilient adhesive substance incorporated therein and extending to onesurface of the layer and also to the next adjacent layer of thematerial.

2. A-flexible foot-arch supporter having a plurality of superimposedlayers of fabricated flexible material and also a cover layer composedof soft and pliable material, and layers of adhesive resilient materialbetween and adhering to each of the two next adjacent layersof'material.

3. A flexible foot-arch supporter compris- 7 ing a bottom layer composedof flexible woven fabric and flexible substance combined with the upperside thereof, a top layer composed of flexible woven fabric and flexiblesubstance combined with the upper side thereof, a cover composed offlexible material and having adhering connection with the flexiblesubstance of the top layer, and padding layers composed of flexiblewoven fabric and interposed between the bottom layer and the cover andsecured in place by the flexible substance thereof.

4:. A flexible foot-arch supporter comprising a bottom layer composed offlexible woven fabric and flexible substance combined with the upperside thereof, the bottom layer having tongues on its edge portion thatare turned over the upper side of the layer, a top layer composed offlexible woven fabric and flexible substance combined with the upperside thereof, the top layer extending under the tongues and havingadhering connection with the flexible substance of the bottom layer, acover composed of flexible material and having adhering connection withthe flexible substance of the top layer, the cover being secured uponthe tongues, and padding layers composed of flexible woven fabric andinterposed between the bottom layer and the cover and secured in place.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence 0 two wltnesses.

JAMES L. ZINK.

Witnesses E. T. SILvIUs, F. M. RoEDER.

